Canadian Retirees Visa

Yepir. We were in Costa Rica with friends when he ended up needing two stints in his ticker. 35000 bucks later it was done. His particular expat insurance covered him for everything but the first 10,000. I think he and wife paid 11000 a year for the two of them for their expat policy. Expensive is relative to the budget but that would be on the upper end of our comfort zone for travel. They travelled for 5 or 6 years like that though. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I would think If one is going to spend years in a country like Costa Rica it best to just do the paperwork and sign on to the public system. Residency etc... Quite common there. Great country. We know some who just self insure. Eg, 100,000 in a back account ready to go if something happens. Something to think about when the time comes.

It's expensive to be Canadian expat anywhere, not only in the US. Without Medicare waiting for you the moment you return to home country, and without full SS pension (no GIS), it's already expensive. Americans can buy medevac plan for 200 bucks a year and fly back to Medicare when serious sh-t hits the fan, but we can't.

A first-class treatment in a third world country will still cost a first-class money, so your insurance would have to be substantial, and an affordable public hospital in a midsize town of Equador or Mexico is a lottery with questionable odds, you don't want to be there with anything serious.

The fact that Mexico is drivable from Canada, is more a psychological comfort than anything else. 6-7 days one way, and if compared to flying, the cost of gas, car wear, food and hotels is a break-even for 2 people and a sure loss for 1 person. We've just got used to driving and don't think.

Almot wrote:

John & Angela wrote:
I don't think the 8 month thing would do much for us. Although I can see spending 8 or 9 months on the road it wouldn't be all in the US. Lots of countries out there to see. I can see how some might be interested though, age group etc. It will be interesting to watch. I think health care costs could get nuts.

Health insurance, yes. You lose provincial plan after 7 months in a calendar year (subject to 2 years exemption once every 5 years). Then you will need a private plan for the US that doesn't require a valid provincial coverage, and for people over 65 those are either very expensive, or have very low coverage like 50K - a laughable amount for US hospitals. And you also need to pay for a private plan in-Canada when you return home and wait 3 months to re-activate the provincial plan.

You also lose your GIS pension after uninterrupted 6 months out of Canada.

Some people will probably benefit from this new "retiree visa", not sure how many.

Agreed. For many if you are going to go expat the US would not be the destination to do it in. Mexico, Chile, Ecuador, Spain, Greece, Italy Morocco, would all be better choices with affordable health care costs. Mexico is a driveable option , the rest you pretty much have to fly to. But there will always be a market for the classic Canadian snowbird in Florida or California or Arizona. It works well for certain age groups and at some point many have had enough of adventure and are ready to just take it easy. We still work 5 months of the year and enjoy 3 or 4 months of the year in SoCal. But the other three months we are on the road somewhere. This year we are doing two and a half months in Europe and a little in North Afrika. All the body parts are still working well and we figure we'll use them while we can. :)

John & Angela wrote:
I don't think the 8 month thing would do much for us. Although I can see spending 8 or 9 months on the road it wouldn't be all in the US. Lots of countries out there to see. I can see how some might be interested though, age group etc. It will be interesting to watch. I think health care costs could get nuts.

Health insurance, yes. You lose provincial plan after 7 months in a calendar year (subject to 2 years exemption once every 5 years). Then you will need a private plan for the US that doesn't require a valid provincial coverage, and for people over 65 those are either very expensive, or have very low coverage like 50K - a laughable amount for US hospitals. And you also need to pay for a private plan in-Canada when you return home and wait 3 months to re-activate the provincial plan.

You also lose your GIS pension after uninterrupted 6 months out of Canada.

Some people will probably benefit from this new "retiree visa", not sure how many.

What is quoted here is what we have heard as well. Unfortunately for us we travel the USA staying from 1 day to one month at each location. Lots of those stays are not booked until we arrive making qualifying for the visa impossible as we could not provide lease or rental agreements for our 8 month (or 7 months as our province will only allow 7 month out) stay. Seems unfair to those of us who do not preplan our entire winter in the USA. Brought this up with the CSA and they think people like us will be out of luck but suggested we wait to see what the final legislation looks like. Seems like people in our situation have an extremely small voice in this.

I don't think the 8 month thing would do much for us. Although I can see spending 8 or 9 months on the road it wouldn't be all in the US. Lots of countries out there to see. I can see how some might be interested though, age group etc. It will be interesting to watch. I think health care costs could get nuts.

it's really quite simple ??? The senate has passed an immigration bill allowing extended stay. Congress has not.

Congress intends to write it's own bill and pass that.

Then, the parts of the two bills that match go to the President for signiture. The parts that differ go to the other house .... back to the congress or senate for another vote.

The plan is to have a bill ready to vote in November. No one knows what will be in it. Then the reconcilliation process starts.

Don't expect an answer soon....

From the Globe and Mail last December:

"Last summer, the U.S. Senate passed immigration legislation that stated Canadian retirees 55 and older who were willing to spend at least $500,000 on a residence could spend up to 240 days in the United States without a visa – almost two months longer than the current limit."

The JOLT Act, or "Canadian Retiree Visa," hasn't run the gamut of committees as yet. Given how, um, tied into knots the Feds are, don't hold your breath...

....BTW: to meet the criteria, Canadians must be 55 years of age or older, and must have a signed lease or rental agreement for the duration of the extended 8 month "vacation stay". If you are a Canadian owning property in the US, you do not need a signed lease or rental agreement for the 8 months contiguous. No need to have to invest 500k in the US to qualify for the Canadian Retiree Visa whatsoever. A sub 40k home would suffice.

....the lease or rental agreement must be contiguous and unbroken, or if you're staying in 2 or 3 locales, cover the 8 month duration of the Canadian Retiree Visa application. Also, visa holder must not work or be employed IN the US --this includes working remotely for your Canadian employer via same-time connect or any other permutation thereof, or be actively managing your US rental property (Canadians who own rental property in the US absolutely are required to hire a rental management company to handle their properties; if you are caught even changing a light bulb in your commercial rental property and you are reported by a neighbor to INS, you will be deported-- game over).

...the waiting game: if its meant to be, it will be.

The kicker for me would be that there is an extremely good chance that by staying that long you would become subject to US income tax law, and that would be a whole can of worms that no one wants to open...

This IS a guarantee; however, look into the Canadian foreign tax credit carefully, and consult your Canadian/US Chartered Accountant/CPA firm to resolve your particular situation (ie. in retirement, retirees will have a substantially lower income for tax purposes, and may not hold a very high net worth/globally; should look into their foreign tax credit avenue when filling out Canadian tax returns/US tax returns).

S-

It's tied to the Immigration Reform bill now stalled in process, and my take on the impasse between congress, senate and President is that it will die on the table. It would let eligible people have a 240 day visa rather than the current 180 day limit. You don't need to own US real estate, just have a permanent residence outside the US and have a rental agreement inside the US, plus a few other things of little consequence. The kicker for me would be that there is an extremely good chance that by staying that long you would become subject to US income tax law, and that would be a whole can of worms that no one wants to open...

http://www.thestar.com/business/personal_finance/retirement/2013/05/31/us_law_could_be_a_snowbird_tax_timebomb.html

Brian